He's the Manning now
In leading the New York Giants to Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning is no longer just the "other" Manning.
In the fishbowl of the Big Apple and in the pressurized existence of NFL's First Family of quarterbacks, the younger brother of Peyton and the youngest son of Archie has forged his own identity after his fourth NFL season.
Along with 3 straight playoff wins on the road following a regular-season-ending 38-35 loss to the New England Patriots, Manning has played by far the best football of his career.
He has completed 75 of 117 passes (64.1 percent) for 853 yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 interception. His passer ratings for those four games are: 118.6, 117.1, 132.4 and 72.3 in the minus-24 wind chill at Lambeau Field.
"Our hats are off to Eli," said Giants veteran linebacker Antonio Pierce. "There isn't anybody I'm more proud of on this team than Eli because he's taken criticism (starting from) draft day. This guy did nothing but battle and come uphill, and he's the NFC conference champion."
Manning would be the first to point out that he's just one of 53 members of the NFC championship outfit. But he may be the most improved.
After turning the ball over 26 times in the first 15 games, Manning has not had a single turnover in the postseason, for which he credits his teammates.
"Our defense has been playing great, (so) we haven't been behind in games where you feel like you have to force something, where you've got to score right here," he said. "Our offensive line has been protecting, and our receivers are getting open. It's a combination of everybody."
How about a little credit for the quarterback?
"Well, for me to play well, all the guys around me have to be doing their job," Manning said. "They're doing that, and I'm getting them the ball. My job can be easy when guys are playing well around you."
Even though Manning's numbers in the NFC title game weren't as gaudy as in the previous three, it may have been his most impressive performance given the freezing conditions.
Of his 21 completions, 17 went to wide receivers who accounted for 219 of the Giants' 254 passing yards. Plaxico Burress had 11 catches for 154 yards, and Amani Toomer added 42 yards on 4 receptions.
After the pregame, when they tried to warm up in the below-zero temperatures, the Giants didn't know what to expect.
"Me and Amani and Plaxico came out two hours before the game to do our warmup, and we only got through about a quarter of it," Manning said. "We said, 'Hey, we've got to go in.' My left hand was numb. My receivers didn't have any hand warmers; they were done. I said, 'Hey, I can throw. Let's take it in. We're good.' "
Once the whistle blew, Manning and his two favorite targets were better than good.
"On the sidelines they had heaters, and I stood by that the whole time and stayed warm," Manning said. "I never took my helmet off. I had big gloves around my hand. I kept my (throwing) hand warm; that was the main thing."
The Giants won't have to worry about staying warm in their next game, Feb. 3 at Glendale, Ariz.
For Manning, he goes there knowing he will play in his first Super Bowl five years earlier than did Peyton, who didn't make it until last season, his ninth in the league.
Eli's NFL career has had more ups and down than an elevator operator's. He has thrown 77 TD passes in 3½ years as a starter, but he also has been picked off 64 times and picked on by critics much more than that.
He has never finished a regular season with a passer rating higher than 77.0 (only in his rookie season has Peyton ever had a rating under 84.1).
But Eli and the Giants have turned things around at the right time, at least for the moment refuting his critics.
"It feels good, and not just because of (answering the critics)," Manning said. "It feels good because this is what you work for. This is how you spend your time. It's been four years and a lot of preparation, a lot of games, a lot of work, and we stuck with it.
"We believed in ourselves, and we got to the Super Bowl."